Work to manufacture and lay the East Micronesia Cable (EMC) has officially commenced, with the EMC Management Committee members signing a contract with the successful supplier, NEC Corporation.

The estimated $135 million project, enabled by grant funding from Australia through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, Japan and the United States, will build an undersea cable to connect the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Tarawa in Kiribati, and Nauru to the existing HANTRU-1 cable, located in Pohnpei, FSM.

The signed contract means the final cable design and manufacturing of the cable, which will be no wider than a garden hose, will now begin. Once built, the East Micronesia Cable will be laid across the ocean floor and connected to landing infrastructure in each country, providing faster, higher quality and more reliable and secure communications to more than 100,000 people across the three Pacific countries.

Today’s milestone is also marked by the launch of the East Micronesia Cable website, which provides information in English, Gilbertese, Kosraean and Nauruan.

Through the project, Australia is proud to support critical infrastructure development in the Pacific and the provision of resilient telecommunications assets, with the East Micronesia Cable to bring the Micronesian region closer together.

Read the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade media release.

An AIFFP-funded solar power plant and battery storage facility has been officially inaugurated in Palau. The plant, comprised of 15.28 MWp of solar power generation and a 12.9MW battery storage facility, is at Ngatpang on Babeldaob, Palau.

Australia’s Ambassador to Palau, Richelle Turner, attended the plant inauguration alongside His Excellency Surangel Whipps, Jr., President of the Republic of Palau and representatives from the Palauan Senate and project partners the Palau Public Utilities Corporation and Solar Pacific Pristine Power on 2 June 2023.

Construction of Palau’s first utility-scale solar and battery energy storage facility was supported by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific through a AUD31.4 million financing package to Solar Pacific Pristine Power, a privately owned company. Solar Pacific Pristine Power is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Palau by Solar Pacific Energy Corporation. Solar Pacific Energy Corporation is a renewable energy developer based in the Philippines and part of the Alternergy group.

The project demonstrates how Australian financing can leverage and encourage private sector investment to deliver critical, climate resilient infrastructure in the Pacific.

The new facilities mark an important step towards greater renewable energy production in Palau, which has historically been dependent on fossil fuels. The solar facility and battery storage system will provide approximately 20 per cent of Palau’s power needs, delivering up to 23,000 megawatt hours per year to the grid network, reducing Palau’s reliance on expensive diesel generators. 

Australia supports a strong and unified Pacific and is proud to play a role in Palau’s transition to renewable, more affordable energy.

Image: Pictured at the inauguration is Frank Kyota, Chief Executive Officer of Palau Public Utilities Corporation; Regan Belechel, Chairman of Palau Public Utilities Corporation; His Excellency Surangel Whipps, Jr., President of the Republic of Palau; the Hon. Kerai Mariur, Vice President of the Palauan Senate; Vince Perez, Chairman of Solar Pacific Energy Corporation and Alternergy; Mike Lichtenfeld, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Pacific Pristine Power; and Richelle Turner, Australia’s Ambassador to Palau.

Palau with Australia, Japan and the US are celebrating an important milestone towards enhanced internet connectivity. On 6 June 2022, the Pre-Lay Shore End (PLSE) of the second submarine fibre optic cable commenced at the Ngardmau Dock, representing the first stage of the cable lay. This initial section of cable will ultimately be connected to the ECHO submarine cable system, connecting Singapore to the United States. Once operational, the system will contribute to Palau’s communications infrastructure by securing internet connectivity.

This is the first project under the Trilateral Partnership for Infrastructure Investment in the Indo-Pacific, where Australia is working with Japan, the United States and in collaboration with partner governments to deliver critical infrastructure projects in the region that are financially sustainable, climate resilient and inclusive, and create economic opportunities in host countries. The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, alongside DFAT’s bilateral aid program, are financing Australia’s approximately USD10 million contribution.

The Prime Minister of Australia and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea met to announce the Papua New Guinea Port Investment Program between Australia, Papua New Guinea and PNG Ports Corporation Limited (PNGPCL), building on a Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the parties in June last year.

Ports are critical for connectivity and economic growth in Papua New Guinea, which relies heavily on coastal trade and maritime access to essential goods and services. Australia’s investment includes an upgrade of Lae Port – Papua New Guinea’s largest – to position it as a premier transhipment hub for the Pacific, benefiting not only Papua New Guinea, but the region.

The investment will improve trade and connectivity in the region and help with Papua New Guinea’s longer-term development as well as its immediate COVID-19 recovery, building on Australia’s long track record of delivering quality infrastructure in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea Port repairs and upgrades to improve trade, connectivity and commercial capacity | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Women (archived link)

For more information contact aiffp@dfat.gov.au

*Updated AUD figure based on exchange rate: 1.0AUD/0.70USD